


Get Your Wires Crossed

by fabulousanima



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comedy of Errors, F/M, First Dates, First Kiss, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 21:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5681638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabulousanima/pseuds/fabulousanima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Marinette's secret is discovered by Nino, and when Alya finds out Adrien's secret identity, the heroes are faced with double the problems. Now everyone is keeping secrets from everyone else, and things are about to get complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm excited to work on a new multichapter fic for Miraculous Ladybug! This prologue is of course quite short, but the next chapter should be done in the next few hours and be much longer. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 

The beeps from their Miraculous sounded simultaneously.

"Sounds like we're out of time for the night, My Lady," said Chat, sweeping into a bow.

"So it seems," Ladybug said with a smirk. "I'll be heading out, then."

Chat winked one last time and they turned their backs. Both leapt from the roof in opposite directions, heading for home.

Ladybug swung closer and closer to the bakery, eyeing an alleyway not that far from the entrance. At this time of night, there weren't many people around, so she dropped into it. With a final beep, she felt the transformation wear off.

Across town, Chat landed neatly on his feet a few blocks from home. He wondered if there were a store open this late; he wanted a small snack before turning in for the night. His ring gave a last chirp, and he transformed back into his civilian self.

Marinette brushed a few stray strands out her face and was just about to walk home when a very familiar voice froze her in place.

And Adrien was fiddling with his wallet when someone called out to him and made him stop dead in his tracks.

"M-Marinette?"

" _Adrien?!_ "


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here it is! Please review, and feel free to poke me on tumblr (fabulousanima)!

 

* * *

 

"M-Marinette? You're Ladybug?"

Nino, her classmate, Nino, someone she knew as a civilian, Nino, _Adrien's best friend_ , was standing in front of her, a blank look on his face, hands limply holding the end of his dog's leash and a small plastic bag.

"No!" she squealed, but it only incriminated her further. She slapped a hand to her mouth. _Act normal!_

"I can't believe it," he said, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

"You shouldn't!" she cried desperately.

"All this time, you've been right in front of everyone."

"No I haven't!"

Nino's smirk grew wider as his dog began to sniff at the garbage cans nearby. "You've been Ladybug all this time."

"This is just a dream!" Marinette blurted out.

"Oh, Marinette," sighed Tikki in her ear.

Cocking his head, Nino raised an eyebrow. "Man, this is amazing. Marinette, how did you keep this a secret so long?"

"With difficulty, and Nino, it's very, _very_ , important that you keep my secret too." She stepped closer, clasping her hands in front of her chest. "Please Nino. This is so important."

"But everyone has been trying to figure it out for, like, forever!" His eyes were glazed over, as if he were seeing something far away. "Could you think of everyone's reactions if they found out? Man, Chloe would be so shocked!"

Marinette put her hands on his shoulders. "Nino, that's the least of my worries. I don't tell anyone about my secret identity because I'm worried about my family. What if it puts them in danger? What if they become a target?" Nino's gaze finally seems to focus on her and his shoulders slump slightly under her touch. "And aside from that, could you imagine all the attention? I don't want the press hounding me at every turn. That would be awful."

"Sounds a lot like my man Adrien's life," he said sagely. "I see your point."

Opening her mouth to speak, Marinette paused. Filing that information away to think about later, she barreled forward. "Yes, exactly. And I don't want that, and I don't want to do that to my friends and family. So _please_ Nino. This is serious."

He still didn't look totally convinced, so she turned to look over her shoulder at the darkened bakery.

"Can I make you something to eat?"

Nino chuckled. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"If that's what it takes," she said, and with another laugh, he reached up and gently extricated her hands from his shoulders.

"I like cupcakes," he said.

Marinette turned on one of their smaller ovens as quietly as she could. Her parents went to bed fairly early to prepare for the demands of the bakery in the morning, and she didn't want to wake them.

She bustled around the kitchen, throwing together the easiest cupcake recipe she knew, feeling a tension in her shoulders that made it hard to stir properly. Tikki, of all things, had to decided to sit with Nino and his dog (after he had disposed of the plastic bag, thank goodness).

"I haven't had the chance to play with a dog for a long time!" she said delightedly, rubbing the animal's stomach. "Maybe about a century. This is wonderful!"

"Well, that's quite a statement," said Nino, trying to hold his dog on his lap while it squirmed with pleasure. "Bella, _sit still_."

"Yeah, Tikki is… very old," Marinette offered from the kitchen. She closed the oven door on the cupcakes and began to move the dishes to the sink.

"So there must have been other Ladybugs." He glanced around at Marinette. "Uh, do you need help with anything?"

"It's not a bribe if I don't do the work myself," she grumbled, only half joking. Nino and her kwami laughed.

"There have been, and it's been just as important to all of them that their identities be kept secret," said Tikki, floating up to look into Nino's eyes. "I've seen it too many times to count; it's just not good if the secret gets out."

Marinette tried to watch them from underneath her eyelashes as she scrubs the dishes. Nino looked pensive and serious, and she felt the knot in her stomach slowly abate.

She knew Nino would never do anything to intentionally hurt someone, but - just as she'd always feared - the shock of meeting the real Ladybug made his better judgement fly out the window. But Tikki seemed to be reasoning with him, and she hoped if she kept him with her until the initial excitement wore off, he'd be more amenable to agreeing not to say anything.

"What kind of frosting do you want?" she asked, drying her hands on a towel.

"I can have whatever I want?"

"Sure."

"Can I have orange?"

Marinette laughed, feeling lighter with each moment. "Yeah, I meant what flavor?"

They settled on vanilla, and she began to mix the ingredients while the cupcakes kept baking. Nino's dog eventually wiggled her way out of his arms onto the counter and he apologized even as Tikki and Bella began to play. Marinette laughed, feeling more and more at ease. It was - actually _nice_ to share her secret with someone. Nino might not have been the first person she would have told, but it was fun to be able to see Tikki interact with someone (and some dog) totally new.

The oven timer went off and she pulled the tray out with a mittened hand. She opened the fridge and slid the tray in to cool them down faster.

"So do you always walk Bella near the bakery?" she asked.

Nino scratched his dog's ears absent-mindedly. "No, actually. I was on the phone with my cousin and we were talking about plans for a new movie to shoot together. I got really excited and decided to walk a lot farther than usual." He snorted. "I ended up carrying that bag a lot longer than usual too; I just didn't notice until I saw Ladybug swoop in." Sobering up, he looked at her. "Uh, what should I call you, by the way?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… you're Ladybug _and_ Marinette. Should I-?"

"When you see me as Marinette, you should call me Marinette." Tikki flew up and landed on her shoulder. "And when you see Ladybug, you should call her Ladybug, and you should _definitely_ not say anything that would make it sound like you know her."

"You mean you," he said, leaning forward.

"You know what I mean."

"You haven't said it yet."

"What?"

"You haven't said 'I am Ladybug.' You should! You should be proud of it, even if you can't say it to too many people."

Marinette bit her lip. Tikki gave her a small pat on the cheek. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "I am… Ladybug."

It was like a marble in her mouth, hard to speak around, but a smile blossomed across her face as she spoke. Nino nodded, a grin on his own face. "Yeah, and it's the _coolest thing ever_."

Tikki nuzzled into her neck, and Marinette patted her head. "Yeah, I guess it is."

* * *

" _Adrien?!_ " Alya slowly lowered her phone as she stared at him, her mouth open in a wide grin. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, face stricken and pale, eyes wide.

"Alya?!" he spluttered. "What are you doing here this time of night?"

"I saw Ladybug and Chat Noir rush past my window and I went to see if I could catch them on camera." She clutched her phone tighter. "I guess I did."

Adrien's eyes flicked towards the phone, then he lunged for it. Alya yelped and tried to dance out of his reach; he was _fast_.

"No! My phone!"

"Alya," he hissed, voice low and dangerous. "You _cannot_ upload that video. You _cannot_ reveal my identity."

"Adrien-!"

"I'll break it, I'm serious-"

"Wait! Wait! Okay, okay, you can delete the video." He glared at her but relented, and she slowly lowered the phone. She swiped in her password and handed the phone to him. He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I said you can delete it," she said by way of explanation. "I want you to see that it's really gone."

With a frown, he took the phone. Alya heard the sounds of the last video she just took - the one in which Chat Noir landed in a darkened street and shed his catsuit to become Adrien Agreste - as he played it, then had to prevent herself from wincing as they were abruptly cut short; he had deleted it. He swiped his finger along the screen and Alya knew he was looking at the other videos in her phone. Adrien glanced up.

"That really is the only one you took?"

"Adrien, I swear."

With a sigh through his nose, he held the phone out again. Alya took it back. "Well, thanks," he said, deflating slightly. "I guess-" He seemed suddenly taken aback by her wicked grin. Alya tried to smooth out her features. Adrien blanched. " _You can't tell anyone, Alya_."

"I can't believe this," she said. Alya began to pace up and down the sidewalk. A white hot excitement was pounding through her veins; she felt the thrill of stumbling upon a big scoop. "I really can't believe this."

"Please-"

"Wait!" She startled him into silence. Glasses flashing, she whirled on him. "Does this mean you know who Ladybug is?"

"No," he said, sounding miserable.

She peered intently into his face.

"No! I really don't. We keep our identities secret from everyone, including each other." She noticed he glanced to the side as he said it, and there was something in the way his mouth turned down that made her think he was telling the truth.

"Fine, okay. But aren't you curious about who she is?"

"Well-"

"I _had_ thought that she was 5000 years old, but if _you're_ Chat Noir, then she must be someone living in the city too! Once we find her, we can ask her."

"Find her?"

"Yeah! We should try to figure out her identity together!"

Adrien's brow furrowed, and it was a testament to how he was definitely a model that he managed to still look good-looking while doing so. "Alya, no. She doesn't want anyone to find out who she is, and we need to respect that."

"But you don't care?"

"I do care!" and he was suddenly animated again. "I care a lot! You can't tell anyone!"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Okay, fine. But why doesn't Ladybug tell _you_ who she is? Doesn't she trust you?"

"I- I hope so," he said. "But she's too important to me to try to press on the matter."

Alya's insides squirmed. The tender, faraway look on Adrien's face made her wonder just how much he cared for Ladybug. Poor Marinette; how could she hope to compete with that?

But she brushed it aside for the moment. "Okay, so we won't try to unmask her. That's fair. But I think we can both agree we want to know more about her, right?"

"I guess…" he said carefully. "Yeah, that's true."

"Excellent," she said, extending her hand. Adrien hesitated, then shook it. "And I will keep your secret, I promise-"

"Thank you," he said, shoulders sagging with relief.

"-On one condition."

"W-What?"

Alya grinned. "You have to go to the movies with Marinette."


	3. Chapter 2

* * *

 

There was a beat in which Alya watched Adrien's face contort into confusion, and in which she heard the words echo in her head. She realized how they sounded.

"And me!" she blurted out. "And Nino. Like as a group of friends. We'll have fun, yeah, it'll be great. Right?"

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Okay," he said slowly, and to her immense relief, it sounded like he believed her; the moment was smoothed over, and he was none the wiser. "But you don't have to blackmail me into hanging out with you guys, I'd do that anyway."

"It's not blackmail," she said, putting a hand to her chest in mock affront. "It's assurance."

Adrien deadpanned, "That's blackmail."

"Tomato, to-mah-to," she said, waving a lazy hand. "Okay, let's go to the movies this weekend, and then we can really get to work on the Ladyblog."

"In what way?"

Alya flashed him a grin. "I'm going to get the most _exclusive_ interview with Chat Noir."

* * *

The next morning, Adrien's limousine pulled up to the front of the school. He rested a hand on the door handle, but made no move to get out.

It had been a long night. He had stayed with Alya for almost an hour, going over and over how much he did _not_ want his identity revealed, until he finally felt satisfied that she would listen. She had left with a spring in her step and a promise that she would have a whole ream of questions to ask him when she interviewed him. The rest of his night had been given over to talking to Plagg about what to do (he wasn't very helpful) and to fitful sleeping.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Alya. He did - more or less. At least, he knew that Alya his friend didn't want to do anything to hurt him. Alya the reporter, though, Alya the news-hungry hound that would sniff out a story where ever she could - that worried him more. He was concerned her ambition would overtake her good heart, and he'd be in trouble. If he wanted to keep the headlines free of any accusations about Gabriel Agreste's son and what he wore when he _wasn't_ modeling, Adrien would have to be on top of Alya as best he could be.

His driver gave a grunt, and he snapped back to reality. Adrien slid out of the car with a long sigh.

When he got to the classroom, he saw Alya give him a smug smile. After making eye contact, she turned to talk to Marinette, who seemed a little jittery. That wasn't unusual - Marinette always seemed a little nervous - but what was unusual was Nino's greeting.

"Hey Marinette! How's it going? Hey Ayla, Adrien. It is a great morning, huh?"

Adrien raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. His friend seemed oddly cheery, and, not that it was _really_ a big deal, but Nino had never greeted Marinette like that. He would normally walk in and jump right into conversation with Adrien himself. Glancing back at Marinette, it appeared she found the greeting a little weird too; her eyes were bugging out a little as she stared at him.

"You seem like you're in a good mood," said Alya, leaning forward.

Nino folded his hands behind his head. "I just think it's going to be a great day!"

At that moment, their teacher called out for everyone to take their seats, and the lesson began. Adrien bent his head over his textbook, but his mind started to wander almost as soon as he did so.

Alya's smile was just a little too knowing; he'd have to talk to her about that. But what was up with Nino and Marinette? A corner of his mind went into overdrive, paranoid and panicking: did they both know? Did Alya tell them? She was close with both of them, even if they weren't close with each other. But no, that couldn't be right. She had given her word, and she'd keep it - right?

The first few periods passed by in a blur. It was hard to concentrate on school when there was a knot in the pit of his stomach. As he dug through his locker (extra carefully that day - he didn't want to unturf Plagg accidentally and reveal his secret _again_ ) to collect his bag, he wondered if he should just go home for the day.

A slam made him jump about two feet in the air. As Adrien tried to steady his own heartbeat, he turned to see Alya standing next to his locker.

"I have a question about the physics homework," she said just a shade too loudly. "Can you tutor me over lunch? We can go to the cafe around the corner."

"Oh," he said, quickly covering Plagg with a pair of gym shorts. "Yeah, sure."

As they left the building together, Alya made idle chatter, talking about their assignments and whether or not the cafe would have her favorite soup of the day. When they were far enough away from the school, Alya glanced backwards, then closed her hand around Adrien's arm.

He yelped as she dragged him suddenly behind a corner. She adjusted her glasses and glared up at him.

"Adrien, c'mon."

"What?"

"You're being so obvious! You're all sad today, and people are gonna ask why." She took a deep breath through her nose, then exhaled. "Look. I get why you're nervous, but please don't be. I really will keep my word and I won't tell anyone. Much as I might like to know who Ladybug is," and she tilted her head upwards, as if looking for her at that moment, "I won't try to unmask her and I definitely won't unmask you. You're my friend, and I wouldn't do that to you."

He felt his lips tug upwards at that. "Thanks, Alya," he said. "I do feel better."

They stood there for a moment. Then Adrien let out a half-exasperated sigh.

"But you still want an interview."

"Yes I do!" she said, dancing a little on the spot. Clearing her throat, she tried to steady herself. "Yes, this is still the most amazing thing to happen to the Ladyblog. There's no reason I have to explain _why_ I get to have access to Chat Noir, but that doesn't mean I can't get the inside scoop! Maybe I can even interview your little friend," she said, gesturing at his bag.

Adrien felt Plagg wiggle a little, but put his hand protectively over the cloth. "That might be dangerous," he said. "It would reveal that you were interviewing me out of transformation, and that's not good."

Alya put her hand on her chin. "Okay, fair point. So I won't do an official interview. But maybe I can still ask him questions?"

" _Only for cheese_ ," came a muffled voice. Adrien elbowed his bag.

"What?"

"You might have to bribe him," said Adrien. "C'mon, let's get lunch before we have to get back to class."

* * *

Marinette was doodling idly on the corner of her notebook as she sat in the classroom and waited for everyone else to return from their lunch hour. She had popped home as quickly as possible to finish vacuuming the house, a chore she had been supposed to do last night, before an akuma and Nino had waylaid her. After a hasty lunch, she realized she had misjudged her timing, and she was back at school early. Far from disappointed, Marinette was glad she was actually early for a change, but it meant she didn't have much to do while she waited.

Her classmates slowly trickled into the classroom. She waved at them as they passed her on the way to their seats, pen tracing the same star she had drawn again and again. But then she saw something that made her pen slip across the page, leaving a long black line.

Alya and Adrien entered the room together, chatting and laughing, clearly having had lunch together.

Slipping into the seat next to her, Alya turned to smile at her, but something on Marinette's face must have stopped her. The grin on Alya's slide off her face like egg yolk, and Marinette felt her heart sink similarly. Before either girl could speak, their teacher called for attention, and they both turned to face the front.

What was going on?

* * *

Adrien felt much more relaxed the second half of his day. It was far easier to take notes and pay attention in class now that he had talked with Alya again. He felt very reassured. It seemed that she, while still a reporter at heart, was determined not to reveal his secret.

It was a good thing he had gotten his concentration back, because classes were particularly challenging that day. He barely paid attention to anyone else but the board.

Finally, the teacher dismissed them for the day, and he began to pack his bag. Adrien turned around to talk to his friends again, but was surprised to see Marinette staring gloomily out the window and Alya glaring determinedly in the other direction, tapping her pen against her book. When Alya caught his eye, she turned to him, making a face at him. He furrowed his brow, and she made another face, bugging her eyes out and glancing at Marinette.

At that moment, Nino turned around to look at everyone too, and everything clicked into place.

"Oh!"

Marinette and Nino turned to look at him. Alya gave him a small smile.

"Right! The thing!"

Alya's face fell into one of disbelief.

"This weekend. Uh."

Alya rolled her eyes.

Adrien cleared his throat, collecting his thoughts. "Uh, so this weekend. Do you guys want to go to the movies? I think there are a few good ones playing, and I think we should all hang out together. The four of us."

There was a smirk on Alya's face, but before anyone could say anything, Marinette had stood bolt upright. "Can I speak with you?" she said in a strained voice, and to everyone's surprise, she was looking at Nino.

"Uh, okay?" Marinette grabbed her bag and herded Nino from the classroom. Stymied, Adrien and Alya shared a look.

What was that all about?

* * *

Marinette frogmarched Nino down the stairs and into a tucked away corner of the school. He felt her fingers on his back like sharp points, digging in. Bemusedly, he allowed himself to be steered by Marinette.

As soon as they had some privacy, she whirled on him.

" _Did you have something to do with this_?"

"Did I have something to do with what?"

Marinette waved her hands, as if she were trying to shoo away a pesky fly. "With this! With the plans! With this weekend! Did you do that?"

"What? No! Why-?"

"One night you find out- something," she said, glancing around. "And the next-"

She bit her lip, staring up at Nino, who was trying to keep up. Marinette seemed to think Adrien's plans were related to him finding out about Ladybug- why?

"You don't know?"

"Know what?" he said, feeling more and more lost.

"Alya didn't tell you- something- about me?"

"Does Alya know?"

"Does Alya know what?"

Nino lowered his voice. "About Lad-"

"No!" Marinette cried, slapping a hand over his mouth. "No. I wanted to know if she told you… something else."

She slowly pulled her hand away to allow Nino to speak. "No, Alya has not told me anything about you… I guess?" He scratched at the back of his neck. "I don't know what you're talking about, but my man Adrien's suggestion today was all his idea, if that's what you're asking. I had nothing to do with it, and as far as I know, it has nothing to do with what happened last night."

Marinette's shoulders seemed to untense and she let her head fall back to stare up at the ceiling. She sighed in relief. "Okay, whew. Good. Thanks, Nino."

"Okay." He studied her, a little wary at her mercurial mood change. "You're good? We're good?"

"We're good."

"How many secrets are you keeping, Marinette?"

"Only one!" she insisted, but she looked away and blushed. Nino raised an eyebrow.

After a moment, he conceded. "All right, well, do you want to go to the movies with everyone?"

"Yes!" squeaked Marinette.

"So I can say yes when I talk to them next?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course!" Marinette looked like she was regretting having the conversation at all, and began to dance from foot to foot. "I mean, if you want to. We don't have to. But I'd like to! But it's not a big deal. It's nothing! It's all fine. We're good?" She grinned sheepishly up at him. Nonplussed, Nino smiled back. "Okay, bye!"

As she bolted towards the exit, Nino couldn't help but worry that Paris was apparently in the hands of someone so… _hard to read_.

* * *

Once again, an akuma was unleashed upon the city, and Ladybug and Chat Noir answered the call.

Chat Noir watched as Ladybug swung her weapon at the black butterfly, but the usual sense of satisfaction wasn't there. Both of them had been off their game that night, and they were both sporting extra bruises because of it. The poor handyman who had been wronged (his akumatized villain had yelled something about working overtime without proper compensation) lay blinking on the street as Ladybug released the small purified butterfly, but after quickly checking to make sure he was unhurt, both heroes leapt away to land on the roof of a nearby building.

Ladybug began to massage her neck as they stood on the rooftop bathed in moonlight while Chat Noir rubbed a sore spot on his cheek. He'd have to make sure to ice it well so that it didn't swell in the morning. He glanced over at his partner. She looked a little downtrodden and a lot exhausted.

"Are you all right, My Lady?"

She looked up at him, her eyes luminous in the half darkness. She quirked her lips up in an imitation of a smile, and even just that caused his heart to flutter. "I'm fine, kitty cat, it's just been… a long twenty-four hours."

"Something happened between now and the last akuma?"

She rolled her shoulder, working it under the palm of her hand. "Yeah… I don't know. I guess everything is fine?" Ladybug studied him. "Are you okay?"

Chat thought for a moment. Was he all right? He wasn't sure how he felt. On the one hand, he was feeling better about Alya and her involvement, but at the same time, someone had discovered his secret and he felt exposed, vulnerable. No one in the world would sympathize more than Ladybug, but he hesitated. She might get angry that he was careless and jeopardized both of them. She might tell him she couldn't work with him until he got his act together.

She might even ask who he really is.

And while part of him screamed to tell her, another part of him hesitated. What if she started treating him like Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste and part time model? What if she started to see him just like everyone else did? As much as he wanted to get closer with her, he also feared it.

So in answer, he put on a smarmy grin and swept into a bow. "Never better, My Lady."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed. Please read and review!


	4. Chapter 3

The next morning, Marinette paced her bedroom before school.

"Marinette, I think you're overthinking this," said Tikki patiently.

"Fact number one," Marinette said, hands clasped behind her back. "Alya and Adrien go to lunch together, even though they never have before. Alya does not invite me."

"Yes, but-"

"Fact number two," she continued. "They return, seemingly the best of friends."

"Marinette, that's not true-"

"Fact number three!" Her voice was getting louder in her agitation. "Adrien announces that we should all go to the movies together." She clutched at her hair and groaned. "Ugh." Sinking to the floor, Marinette put her head in her hands. "All these facts add up to Alya _told_ Adrien how I feel."

There was a small whooshing noise as Tikki alighted on her knee. She looked half exasperated, half amused. "Marinette," she said matter-of-factly. "I really don't think that Alya would have broken her promise not to tell him all of a sudden. She's already kept it for so long! Why would she break that promise now?"

Marinette chewed on her lip. "Then… do you think it's possible… that he likes her? Or that she likes him?"

Tikki hesitated. Marinette felt her heart clench. "I don't think that's the case," Tikki said in a rush. "But I can't lie to you, Marinette. I guess that's a possibility."

She let out a small wail and buried her head in her arms again. She felt a tiny pat on her arm and looked up once more.

"But I really don't think so. That would have happened all of a sudden, and I don't think it's very likely. But the only way to find out is if you ask Alya yourself! Or Adrien, I suppose," she said, smiling slightly as Marinette shook her head forcefully.

"I can't do that. If he said he _did_ like her… that would crush me." She sighed. "But I guess I can ask Alya. I just can't promise I won't punch her if she says she likes her."

"Marinette," said Tikki in warning.

"What! How could she betray me like that?"

Tikki sat down on her hand and crossed her arms firmly. "No one can help how they feel, Marinette. If Alya started to like Adrien, she couldn't help it. But! You need to talk to her yourself to find out."

Marinette let out a sigh. "You're right. I'll get dressed for school."

* * *

Alya checked her phone for the fourth time in a minute as she waited outside the school for her friend. She hadn't really spoken to Marinette since the weird interaction yesterday. She had sent a text asking if everything was okay, but Marinette had only responded, "Yup, all good!" hours later, and Alya was knee deep in homework at the time and hadn't seen it before it was too late to text back.

She was practicing all the excuses in her head. Tossing and turning last night, Alya had used the sleepless hours to think of several reasons for Adrien to suddenly have proposed a movie night. While she had been hoping Marinette might not look a gift horse in the mouth, her behavior yesterday suggested otherwise. Ever the prepared reporter, Alya had crafted a number of stories she could feed Marinette (at least until the wedding when she could reveal her creativity in her maid of honor speech) to hide the fact that she was hiding a secret from her best friend.

She hadn't given much thought to what Marinette might do if she knew Adrien were Chat Noir. Alya had suggested it in jest before and Marinette had said Adrien was way better looking - but they were the _same person._ So how would she react?

Would being the girlfriend of a superhero put her friend in danger? She could certainly see the concern Adrien had for keeping his identity a secret. If someone found out who he was, all the people in his life would be accosted by reporters - and her scoop would become a lot less exclusive.

Her mind went into overdrive, writing a long list of questions to ask Chat Noir when she next got the chance, but after a moment, she remembered herself. Marinette: she had been thinking about how Marinette might handle dating a boy in a cat suit.

Or would he even tell her? Maybe they would start dating and he would never even mention it; he certainly hadn't told anyone else, and Alya herself had discovered it by accident. It would feel weird to know a secret, a big secret, about her best friend's boyfriend that she didn't know. What would happen if Chat Noir swooped in to save her? Would she recognize him? Would he give himself away without meaning to? What would happen if Marinette were ever akumatized? Would Chat Noir have to fight his girlfriend?

At that moment, the very girl Alya hoped to make Chat Noir's girlfriend appeared. She handed Alya a croissant and they both began to eat their breakfast.

There was a contemplative silence as they both ate, chewing thoughtfully. Finally, Marinette swallowed the last bite of her bread and asked carefully, "Alya, you don't… you don't _like_ Adrien too, do you?"

Alya's mind immediately went into motion. "Definitely not, girl! I would never do that to you. I just wanted to ask Adrien a few questions about the physics homework, and then we started talking about how if you watch movies, they usually have really crazy physics that could never actually happen, and we got to talking about how fun it would be to go to the movies!"

Deftly spinning together Excuses 1, 4, and 7, Alya put her arm around her best friend, who was visibly relaxing. "I know it seemed weird, but I didn't want to say in _front_ of Adrien that I more or less steered the conversation in that direction."

"Yeah," said Marinette, sounding convinced. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Let's get to class to see if the boys are there already and we can figure out a time that works for everyone!"

* * *

It worked out that everyone was free that night, and so Marinette dragged Alya back to her house immediately after school to pick out something to wear for that evening. Alya sat on the floor while she tried on outfit after outfit, growing more and more desperate.

"You're definitely overthinking this," said Alya, tapping away at her phone while Marinette struggled to work the dress over her head. "You could just wear something you always wear! What about the pink pants and the black jacket combo?"

"I feel like I wear that all the time," she said, slightly muffled through the fabric over her head. "I want something nice, something noticeable."

"Maybe something really bold? Like red and black?"

Marinette's eyes flicked to her small purse, where Tikki was well hidden and enjoying a cookie she had slipped her earlier. She peered at her friend through the opening of the dress, studying her carefully. Alya was still looking at her phone, stone-faced. It didn't _seem_ to be her hinting at anything to do with Marinette's other identity, but Marinette was feeling a little paranoid. Still, Alya didn't seem to have even noticed what she'd implied, because she continued, "You know, you have those great red leggings and that nice black top. The one with the uneven neckline."

"That is a nice shirt… do you think it's too much?"

Alya glanced up at her. "I thought you wanted to make a statement?" Her lips quirked up in a smile.

"I do, I do…" She finally wrestled out of the dress and flung it to the side; she'd clean up later. "Maybe I'll wear that flowy white skirt I tried on a little while ago. It's sweet, so it contrasts nicely with the hardness of the top."

Alya laughed. "You need to stop watching so much Project Runway."

"It's research for my future career as a fashion designer!" Marinette began to wade through the pile of clothes strewn across the floor in search of the clothing in question. Finally finding both, she put them on and examined herself from every angle in the mirror, pouting a little as she scrutinized herself. She almost jumped out of her skin when Alya reminded her that they needed to be there in about an hour, and she leapt into the bathroom to fix her hair.

Marinette put on a touch of makeup, and after insisting that Alya wear some too ("it'll look so weird if I'm all dressed up and you look exactly the same, you need to do _something_ here"), the two girls left the bakery with the booming voice of Marinette's father following them into the warm night air: "Have a wonderful time, girls! Enjoy the show! I hope it's a great evening! Have-"

"Tom, let them go, they'll be late," chided her mother, and Marinette and Alya broke into giggles.

The walk to the movie theater was a short one, punctuated with laughter and light gossip. It was great to ease the slight tension that had built up between them yesterday, and it seemed like in no time at all, they were walking through the doors into the theater.

Adrien and Nino were already waiting for them.

Marinette felt her heart start to race as they raised their hands in greeting and walked towards the girls. Adrien was smiling gently in that way only he seemed to be able to: a little humble, a little mischievous, a lot attractive. Marinette felt a dopey grin spread across her face unbidden, and for the millionth time, she wished she could just _act naturally_ around him.

"Hey," said Nino, nodding at them.

"We already bought our tickets," Adrien supplied. "Sorry, we didn't think to get yours too, and now the line's gotten a bit longer."

"That's fine!" squeaked Marinette. She cleared her throat. "No problem, we'll get right in line, don't wanna miss the show!"

They slid into the line. Alya waited until the boys drifted towards the concession area before turning to her friend.

"That wasn't so bad!" she said, sounding a little impressed. "That was a real sentence you strung together there."

"Ha, ha," Marinette said humorlessly. "If I were smart, I would have said they could wait with us. Or that Adrien could wait with me while you get snacks with Nino." Something occurred to her, and she glanced at her friend. "Is this like a double date?"

Alya raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, it's me and Adrien, and you and-"

"For the moment, we are a ground of friends hanging out," said Alya lightly. With a devious smile, Marinette prodded her. "That is all I am saying on the matter for the night."

However, Marinette wouldn't let it rest until they reached the counter and bought their tickets. They squeezed past the family waiting behind them to find Adrien and Nino laden with sodas and popcorn. "Our treat," insisted Adrien when the girls tried to ply him with money.

"His treat," muttered Nino, though no one heard him.

The four of them entered the darkened theater. Alya lead the way to one of the middle rows until at the last moment, she shoved Nino forward so he entered first. Marinette slid in after the two of them, leaving Adrien at the end.

They distributed the snacks and settled in. Marinette sipped happily at the soda in her hand and threw some popcorn into her mouth. It was a lot easier to make conversation with Adrien when she had the excuse of not being able to talk for most of it. She made _extra_ sure she was chewing with her mouth closed as they discussed classes and the homework they had over the weekend. She even managed to make a joke that he actually laughed at (okay, it was a pun, and a pretty bad one at that, but still, he chuckled) and not embarrass herself once when the lights dimmed and the previews started.

She made to lay her arm across the armrest when she encountered something warm and soft.

"Ah-!"

"Sorry," said Adrien, withdrawing his hand quickly. "This one is closer to you, I'll use the one on the end, sorry about that-"

"No problem!" she managed, voice weak. She could _feel_ Alya's eyes boring into the back of her skull, but she stared determinedly at the screen.

The previews were loud and largely uninteresting; Marinette was almost done with half her popcorn by the time they came to an end. The screen went blank, blips of static running across it every once in a while.

After a few minutes, Alya checked her watch. "Isn't it supposed to start now?"

"Yeah," said Adrien, leaning around Marinette (she could smell his hair, oh god, it smelled so good-) "it looks like there's something wrong with the projector? Maybe-"

There was a sudden _CRASH_ and screams erupted from around the theater. The projection room was now a gaping hole, and a thin man leapt down to the theater floor, straightening with a flourish.

"I was never appreciated in my day job!" cried the clearly akumatized villain. "Working all night for bratty children and adults who sleep through the movies and teenagers who only come here to make out in the dark! Well, no more! Villain Number One is here to ruin everyone _else_ 's movie experience!"

Marinette scowled. What a stupid name; clearly, not every person who was possessed by an akuma was very creative. She clenched her fists and reached for her bag before remembering herself and looking around at the theater.

The explosion seemed to have caused some of the smoldering wreckage to fall onto some of the seats. People in the back rows were pressing towards the exit, but the villain was between Marinette and her group of friends. It seemed that everyone was largely unhurt, but still, it was clear that as unoriginal as this supervillain might be, he was still dangerous.

With a wide, sweeping bow, Villain Number One snapped his fingers. Below his feet, a large reel of film began to spread like an undulating snake. It grew towards the doorway, with civilians leaping out the way to avoid it. Villain Number One let out a high pitched laugh, sounding as deranged as every movie villain ever, and leaned forward. His feet slid forward on the reel, sending him hurtling towards the exit.

"Adrien!" cried Alya. All her friends turned to look at her. "You better get out of here!" she cried loudly. "If you got hurt out here, you wouldn't be able to model tomorrow!"

Adrien blinked at her. "Uh." His mouth very quickly formed an 'O' and he then replied, "Right, yeah. Sorry guys, but I, uh, can't let myself get hurt. Yeah. Okay bye!"

He dashed towards the exit as well, stepping on the movie reel left on the ground.

Marinette was still staring after him, stymied, when she heard Nino shout from behind her, "Uh, Marinette, your hair is on fire! You better go put it out!"

Her hands shot up onto her head, and she began to pat it in a show of tamping down the nonexistent flames. As she let out a small yell and leapt from her seat, she shot him a sour look. He winced at her, apologetic.

Slipping a little on the movie reel on the floor, Marinette burst into the hallway. It was empty; clearly the movie-goers were evacuating.

"Well, at least he left an easy to follow trail," Marinette murmured as she opened the bag at her waist and Tikki zoomed out to float near her ear. "Look, the movie reel leads right out into the lobby."

"He's probably going to target other movie theaters across the city," said Tikki. Marinette spotted a ladies' room and dashed into it; even though the theater seemed pretty well deserted, she had learned her lesson with Nino, and didn't want someone else to discover her secret.

She quickly did a sweep of the stalls, and seeing no feet below them, she hopped into one herself.

"I am sorry your date with Adrien got cut short, though!" cried Tikki sadly. "You were doing so well, too."

"Well, at least he's out of danger," said Marinette. "And my head is not on fire anymore." She rolled her eyes.

To her surprise, Tikki giggled. "I think Nino was trying to be helpful."

"Yes, well, I've been coming up with excuses long before he started helping," Marinette said, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I might need to _actually_ burn some of my hair to fool Alya, though! If I come back and it's still perfect, she might get suspicious. She might even be able to tell by the smell."

"We can worry about that after we defeat the villain." Tikki chuckled again. "Villain Number One."

Marinette sighed, then steeled herself for the transformation.

* * *

Nino watched Marinette race towards the exit (and towards the enemy) with a half grin on his face. He turned back to Alya, saying, "Well, I guess it's just-" when he was cut off by her close proximity. She was _right_ in his face, hands on her hips, and she did not look happy.

"What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?"

"Was Marinette really on fire?"

"Uh-"

"Why didn't you help put her out? That would make so much more sense!"

"Er- I'm sure she wanted to wet it in the sink, much more effective."

Alya glowered at him and leaned even closer. He could smell her lipgloss: vanilla.

"I think you're up to something," she hissed. "And I'm gonna find out what it is."


End file.
